UTC Men’s Golf Looks for Another Special Final 18
-The Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team is seventh after 18 holes of the Saint Mary’s Invitational at Poppy Hills Golf Club. The Mocs 581 total is just three shots out of the top 5 behind Fresno State and Saint Mary’s and six clear of eighth-place Washington State.
Today’s 294 was led by the duo of Paul Conroy and John Houk. The juniors turned in 1-over 72s combining for eight of the 15 birdies on the team’s counting cards. Samuel Espinosa added 74 with Garrett Engle’s 76 completing the score. Nick Etherton had the drop score of 77. The 294 tied for the fifth best of the day in tough conditions.
Conroy is inside the top 10, tied for eighth at level-par 142. Engle is next at 145 with one stroke separating Espinosa’s 149 ahead of Houk and Etherton at 150.
The Mocs are looking for the same spark they’ve had throughout the fall…the final 18. The group is 40 under in the prior four final rounds propelling the team to back-to-back wins over the last two weeks. That comes out to an average of 276.00 (-10.00 vs. par). That’s led by Espinosa and Conroy at 15 under each, a 67.75 stroke average (-3.75).
San Diego is in the lead at 562. That’s 10 better than No. Colorado State in second. Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount are tied for third at 574. Fresno State’s Matthew Manganello and San Diego’s David Rauch are tied in the lead at 136 (-6).
Chattanooga is paired with Washington State for the final round. The two squads tee off No. 1 at 11:32 a.m. (ET). Etherton and Houk are in the first group followed by Espinosa and Engle. Conroy is on his own with the Cougars No. 1 and the top scorers from Fresno State and Saint Mary’s.
